Printing press



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Patented Apr. 8, 1%3@ OFFICE WILLIAM C. BUCHANAN, F FRANKLIN, MASSACHUSETTS, AND WILLIAM 0. TOURJIEE, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNORS TO .AMEBJCLANV TYPE FOUNDERS COM- PANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY PRINTING PRESS Application filed June 10,

The present invention relates to printing presses and more particularly to such presses having an oscillating platen.

The principal features of the invention consists in the provision of a press of thistype with:

1. Means for supporting the sheet feeding and delivery mechanism independent of the press frame. 1

2. Means for readily attaching or removing the sheet feeding and delivery mechanism.

3. Means for driving said mechanism from a. single main shaft journalled independent of the press frame.

4. Means for automatically making .pneumatic, electric and mechanical connections between the portable mechanism and the press source. y Y

5. Means for automatically elevating the sheet feeding table and lowering the delivery table to maintain the tops of the feed and de` livery piles at substantially constant elevations. Y

6. Means to throw the platen to impressionoff position if a sheet is not fed to the press.

7. Means for'readily detaching said throwoff mechanism.

8. Means for completing the movement of the throw-off before the completion of the platen movement. i

9. Means for lifting sheets singly from the top of the pile of'sheets and delivering them tothe feedmechanism.

10. Means for adjusting theV elevating mechanism for the pile of sheets to be fed and the lowering' mechanism for the pile of printed sheets, to vary the extent of movement in accordance with the thickness of sheets.

11. An improved j ogger mechanism.

12. An improved front stop and side register mechanism onthe platen. l y

13. Improved means for permitting rapid raising or lowering of either the table supporting the pile of unfed sheets or the delivery table or both.

14. Improved suction pads for lifting sheets singly from the tcp of the feed pile.

Other features of novelty will be apparent from the description taken in connection with the drawings, in which 1926. Serial No. 115,075.

Figure 1 is an elevation view of the right hand side'of the machine, showing the portable feeder frame attached to the printing press, part only of the press proper being shown; Y

Figure 2 is an elevation of the left hand side of the portable feeder, showing the same detached from the press proper;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the portable feeder as associated with the press;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the portable feeder along the line 4 4 of Fig. 1, showing the cams and cranks on the main shaft of the feeder;

Figure 5 is aV detail view of the impression throw-off mechanism;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail View of a portion of the mechanism of Fig. 4, showing the latch and magnet in greater detail;

Figure 7 is an end view of the structure shown in F 6, looking from the left;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the delivery table, showing the j ogger mechanism;

Figure 9 is an elevation looking from the Y right on Fig. 8;

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken the line 10--10 of Fig. 8;

Figure 11 is a detail sectional elevation taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 8;

Figure 12 is a detail sectional view along the line 12-12 of Fig. 9

Figure 13 is a top plan viewof the oscillating platen, showing the side register mechanism and the sheet stops;

Figure 14 is a sectional view of the platen and side register mechanism, along the line 14-14 of Fig'. 13;

Figure 15 is an enlarged side view of the sheet stops talren along the line 15-15 of Figure 16 is a detail sectional view along the line 16-16 of Fig. 13;

Figure 17 is a side view of the suction pad housing, showing the suction pad in its raised position;

Figure 18 is a side view of the suction pad housing", showing the pad inr its lowered position;

Figure 19 is a front view of the device shown in Fig. 18;

along 'foA Figure 2O is a sectional View along the line 20-20 of Fig. 19;

Figure 21 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 21-21 of Fig. 18;

Figure 22 is an elevation of one of the clamps for securing the portable feeder frame to the press frame, as viewed from the left of Fig'. 2;

Figure 23 is a side view of the clamp;

Figure 24 is a detail sectional view along the line 24-24 of Fig. 22;

Figure 25 is a detail sectional view along the line 25-25 of Fig. 22;

Figure 26 is a detail sectional view along the line 26-26 of Fig. 2, showing that portion of the lowering mechanism of the delivery table located on the left hand side of the feeder frame;

Figure 27 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 25, but taken on the opposite side of the machine;

Figure 28 is a fragmentary plan view looking down on the delivery grippers;

Figure 29 is a sectional view taken line 29-29 of Fig. 28;

Figure 30 is a section taken on line of Fig. 28;

Figure 31 is a section on the line 31-31 of Fig. 29;

Figure 32 is a face View of the suction pad lifting cam; and

Figure is a swinging cam.

Referring more particularly to the drawings; in Fig. 1 a fragment of the press frame is designated by the reference character 10; the oscillating` platen by 11, which is pivoted on the press frame at 12, and the fixed platen by 11a. The press frame carries a main driving shaft 13 on which is keyed the large driving gear 14. An intermediate shaft 15 is journalled in a bracket 16 bolted to the press frame and carries an intermediate gear 17 meshing with the main driving gear 14.

The sheet feeding and delivery mechanism is mounted in a portable frame which is intended to be clamped to the press frame but which can be readily detached and moved away from the press frame. By this provision the sheet feeding and delivery mechanism is practically a self-contained unit.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the portable feeder frame comprises two side frames 18 and 19 of general L-shape design and of cutaway and channeled construction to give the required strength with a minimum weight of material. The two frames are bolted to cross lnembers 2() and 21; as shown in Fig. 3; so as to form a rigid box-like frame. The entire feeder frame is supported on four caster wheels 22. which are mount-ed in arms 23 pivoted at 24 in ears 25 carried by the side frames, and the feeder frame is adjustably supported on the arms 23 by adjusting screws on the face view of the suction pad l 26 bearing on the arms 23 and provided with nuts 27 by means of which the height of the feeder frame may be readily adjusted. The press frame is mounted on a base plate 28 which is provided with grooves 29 at each side, forming tracks in which the casters 22 are guided when the portable frame is brought up to the press frame.

The side frames 18 and 19 have journalled therein a main shaft 3() (Fig. 3) from which all of the cams and cranks for operating all of the mechanism carried by the portable frame are driven. This shaft carries a large driven gear 31 (Figs. 1 and 2) of the same size and provided with the same number of teeth as the gear 14 on the printing press shaft, and when this gear 31 meshes with the intermediate gear 17 the shaft 30 is driven in the same direction and with the same number of revolutions as the press shaft 13.

Sheet transfer mechanism The sheets are fed to the platen from a pile supported on a table 32 and after receiving the impression are taken from the platen and deposited on a table 33 located between the table 32 and the press. The mechanism for transferring the sheets to the platen comprises two or more pairs of gripper fingers 34, 34l supported at the outer end of an arm 35 (Fig. 1) which is keyed on a shaft 36 journalled in the side frames 18 and 19. Arm 35 is oscillated from a crank 37 on the main feeder driving shaft 30 by means of a connecting link 38. Since the crank sh aft 3() makes one revolution for each printing cycle, the gripper fingers will make one complete oscillation from the sheet pile to the platen and back to the sheet pile per cycle. Any suitable struct-ure and operating means may be used for cooking and uncocking the gripper fingers in timed relation to the operation of the platen; such as that disclosed in the copending application Serial No. 748,486; filed November 7 1924, by Walter O. Hall and William C. Buchanan for printing presses.

Sheet delivery mechanism As in the case of the sheet feeding mechanism, the delivery mechanism consists of two or more pairs of fingers which are adapted to be oscillated bodily to and from the alaten. The delivery grippers are mounted 1n a pair of housings 39 which carry at each side a pair of rollers 41 tracking in cam guides 42 which are mounted on studs 43 secured on the inner faces of the side frames and are supported near their forward ends by rods 44 which are secured to the side frames at 45.

Referring more particularly to Figures 28 to 31 slidably mounted in each of the housings 39 is a block 351, and tying these blocks together is an angle bar 352. A hollow shaft 353 is journalled at its ends in the blocks 351. and in this shaft is a small shaft 354 which projects through the blocks and carries .on its projecting ends pinions 355 which mesh with racks 356 s cured inthe housings 39. Each pair of delivery fingers consists of an upper rotatable finger 357 and a lower relatively stationary linger 358. The upper fingers are formed with split collars 359 lwhich are adapted to be clamped in adjusted positions on sha-ft 353 by bolts 360. rllhe lower fingers are suitably supported for adjustment on the angle bar 352 as by means of clamping` bolts 361 passing through upstanding tail portions of the lingers and through longitudinal slots in the angle bar 352. j The blocks 351 are adapted to be held in adjusted positionsv in the housing by means of clamping bolts 362 secured to the blocks and projecting 4through other longitudinal slots 363 in the upper walls of the housing. When it is desired to adjust the position of the fingers relatively to the platen, as when sheets of different lengths are fed, it is only necessary to slack bolts 362, move the finger supports by hand to the correct position, and then tighten' the bolts. In this adjusting movement, the meshing of pinions 355 with racks 356 causes rotation of the small shaft and compels exactly equal movements of the blocks in both housings, thereby effecting Va very accurate parallel movement of the finger supports mounted onsaid blocks. This provides a very easy and accurate adjustment of the delivery fingers through a wide range adapting the griopers for operation on sheets of widely different lengths without the necessity of varying the position of the head ends of the sheets on the platen.

A spring 364 situ-rounding shaft 353 has one end iifed to a collar 365 secured to said shaft and has its other end fixed to a collar in which the shaft is rotated and which issecured to angle bar 352 by screw 367. Spring 364 errerts a torque on shaft 353 ina clockwise direction, looking at Fig. 30, that is, in a direction to move iingers 357' into engagement with fingers 358. rl`he upper fingers are moved in a contrary direction, or cocked, when they approach the limit of their movement away from the platen by means of an arm 368 adjustably secured on shaft 353 just inside the left hand housing 39, a roller 369 on the free end of said arm and a cam 370 (F ig. 1) supported on cam guide 42. Cam 370 consists of an inclined bar having its rear end pivoted on a lug upstanding from cam' guide 42 and supported intermediate of its ends by another lug of greater height. Then the grippers approach correct sheet espositing position, roller 369 runs under cam bar 370 and is thereby depressed, causing rotation of shaft 353 in a counter-clockwise direction, looking at Fig. 30, and cooking the fingers. The fingers are held open or cocked by a dog 373 on arm 374 engaging a shoulderv 375 formed on a collar 376 secured to shaft 353.

Arm 374 is pivoted at its rear end on a pin 374a projecting from block 351 just inside the right hand housing and at the opposite side of the machine from the cooking arm 363. As clearly shown in Fig. 30, 374 extends from its pivot in the form of an arc over shaft V353 and terminates substantially below this shaft, carrying on its free end a roller 377. A spring 378 tends to hold arm 374 down. Roller 377 is so positioned that when the cocked fingers approach the limit of their movement toward the platen and the tail end of the sheet thereof has entered between the fingers, the roller comes into contact with the platen, or an abutment rigid therewith, and thus causes the arm 374 to move upward against the tension oi spring 378, releasing shaft 353 and causingthe Oripp'ers to close.

The operating mechanism for the delivery carriage, which moves the delivery grippers bodily towards and from the platen, as shown in 1 and 2, comprises a pair of levers 46 pivoted at their upper endsto links 4.7 which in turn at thei forward ends are pivoted to the housings 39. rlhe levers 46 haveA a resultant motion produced bytwo trains of mechanism actuated from the main feeder shaft 30 and so designed as 'to produce quick movements of the grippers over or across the platen and a quick get-away from the platen. with a substantial dwell following the movement from the platen. rlhe levers 46 are accordingly fulcrumed to the upper end of arms 48 rigidly connecte-d to a sleeve 49 supported by shaft 36. This sleeve 49 has rigid therewith a depending arm 50 (Figs. 2 and 3) w ich pivot-ed to one end of a link 51, the other end of the link being formed with a fork which works on square block 52a journalled on the shaft 30. This fork carries a laterally projecting roller 53 which works in a cam track formed in the face of a disk 54l keyed on the shaft 30 outside of the side frame 19. VThe lower ends of the levers 46 are formeel as rgear segments, and meshingtherewith are similar segments 5F formed on the upper ends of arms 55 which are secured to the end of a sleeve 56 rotatable on the shaft 36 located in the sleeve 49. i The sleeve 56 which carries arms 55 is provided with a depending arm 57 which is pivoted to a link 58, the forward end of which is provided with a yoke 59 working on a square block 59" journalled on the shaft 30 and having a roller 59a working in a cam .slot formed in the face of a disk 60 keyed on the shaft 30, between the side frame 19 and the cam disk 54. The levers 46 accordingly have a resultant motion derived from the rotation of the gear segments on arms and from their bodily oscillation over the segments by therotation of arms 48. The cams are so formed as to produce quick movements of the grippers across the platen and a quick getaway from the platen, to avoid lnteterence with the platen and to abstract the printed sheet and move it away from the platen while the feeding grippers are conveying a sheet to the platen. and so as to produce a substantial dwell of the delivery grippers following the end of their movement away from the platen, to allow time for the platen to make its printing stroke before the grippers again move forward to take the printed sheet.

I repression, throw-off When the feeding grippers fail to feed a sheet to the platen, either because the sheet forwarding mechanism has failed to function properly, or because the supply of sheets has become exhausted, it is desirable to prevent offset on the packing or make ready. Mechanism is provided for performing this function which will now be described.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, the main feeder shaft 30 has keyed thereon a cam 6l of the peripheral type which is adapted to operate a pitman 62 in one direction. This pitman is formed at its forward end as a yoke 63 working on a square block 63b journalled on the shaft 30 and having a laterally projecting roller 68a which is adapted to roll on the peripheral surface of cam 61. The rear end of this pitman has a pivoted connection at 64 with one end of a lever 65 pivoted on the feeder frame and a link 66 is also connected to the pitman at the pivot 64, which connects it with the outer end of a rod G7 slidably mounted in a lug 67 on a bracket 67b secured to the feeder frame. A compression spring 68 is coiled around the rod 67, and normally tends to push the pitman toward the left as viewed in Fig. 5. During normal operation, however, the pitman 62 is 'prevented from movement to the left by means of the latch 69 pivoted on the bracket 67b and engaging a block 7 O on the side of the pitman. rlhe latch 69 is yieldingly forced in the direction to cause it to engage the block 70 by means such as the spring 69a. Supported on the bracket beneath the tail end of the latch 69 is an electromagnet 71 the circuit of which is controlled by the sheet feeding grippers. The electromagnet 7l is connected by wire 7 2 to the feeder gripper 34 and by wire 72L to the plug 265 near the bottom of the frame (Fig. l). The grippers 84 are connected by wire 73 to said plug so that when the grippers contact directly with each other, the circuit is closed and the electromagnet energized, current being furnished from a suitable source through socket 268 (Fig. l) described hereafter. It will be understood that the gripper lingers 84 and are properly insulated so that the circuit will be closed only when the grippers con-tact with each other. Hence under normal operating conditions, when the feed grippers come into the sheet receiving position, a sheet will be inserted therebetween preventing electric contact between them, but if no sheet is inserted, the gap which they normally form in the circuit of the magnet 71 will be closed and the magnet will be energized, attracting the latch 69 and releasing it from engagement with the block 70, thereby permitting the spring 68 to move the pitman to the left (Fig. 5). The upper end of the lever 65 is connected by means of a link 74 with one arm 75 of a bell crank pivoted on the feeder frame, the other arm 76 of which controls the platen throw-oli1 devices. When the pitman 62 moves to the left, the toggle constituted by the lever 65 and the link 74 is straightened, throwing the arm 76 to the left from its normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, and causing movement of the platen to impression-off position by mechanism which will be described presently.

Rigid with the end of the platen throw-off eccentric shaft 77 is a two arm lever 78 on one arm of which is journalled a roller 7 8n and on the other arm is pivoted a latch 79. Normally the latch 79 engages the forward edge 8Oa of a segmental lug 8O projecting laterally from the rocker R of the press and concentric with the eccentric shaft 77. lhen the lever 78 is locked in this position the eccentric shaft is in impression-on position. Pivoted on a pin secured to lever 78 is a second lever 81 on the tail end of which is journalled a roller 82. Lever 8l has a shoulder 8]. adapted to engage the rear edge 801 of segmental lug 8O when lever 78 has been rotated in a clockwise direction to its platen throwolf position, thus positively locking the platen in this position. Latches 79 and 8l are biased by springs 83 and 84, respectively, to engage the segmental lug 80. Roller 82 on the tai] end of latch 8l is adapted to engage an abutment 85 projecting inwardly from the arm The operation of the throw-olf devices just described is as follows:

Fig. 5 shows the relative position of the parts when the platen is fully open and the eccentric shaft 77 is locked by latch 79 in impression-on position. lVhen now the arm 76 is rocked to the left by the connections described, upon failure of the grippers to convey a sheet to the platen, the roller 86 on the tail end of latch 79 will engage the face 87 of arm 76 and consequently latch 79 will be rotated from engagement with the left hand end of lug 80. Roller 7 8a will enter the recess 88 in arm 76, causing the lever 78 to be rotated clockwise when the platen moves toward closing, position. During the initial part of this movement, roller 86 continues to engage the surface 87 and holds the latch 79 out of engagement with the lug until lever 78 has been rotated sufficiently so that the left hand end of latch 79 rides on the upper surface of lug 80. When lever 78 has been rotated to the limit of its clockwise movethe grippers receive between ment, the shoulder 81Eri on latch 81 engages the right hand end of lug 80, thus locking lever 78 and the eccentric shaft rigid therewith in impression-olf position. It is to be noted that the toggle 74, is straight when arm 76 is in operative position with respect to the throw-off devices, whereby arm 76 is rigidly held against the cam action thereon of these devices. Upon movement of the pitman 62 to the right, in the continued operation of the press, lever 65 will be moved counter-clockwise, breaking the toggle 74, 65 vand causing the arm 76 to move back to its normal position. N ow when the platen again approaches its open position, roller 82 on latch 81 will first come into engagement with an abutment 85 on arm 76, depressing the latch from engagement with the right hand end of lug 80, thereby releasing lever 78. 1n the continued movement of the platen, roller 78a will engage the top of the lug on the arm 76, and arm 7 6 will consequently be rotated to impression-on position before the completion of the platen movement and will be locked in impressionon position by latch 79 snapping over the left hand end of lug 80. As the latch snaps into position, the roller 78al rides free of the lug 90, and when the platen movement is completed, the roller 7 8il engages the surface 89 on the arm 76.

The cam 61 for operating the pitman 62 is so formed and its operation is so timed with respect to the operation of the platen and feed grippers that the roller 63:L on the pitman 62 will ride off the high part of cam 61 just before the cooking of the feed grippers as they approach the limit of their movement toward the platen. If at this time the magnet 71 is energized, because of the failure of the grippers to feed a sheet, pitman 62 will be moved to the left, by action of spring 68, operating lever arm 65, which will straighten the toggle 74, 65 and thereby throwing the arm 76 to the left. As previously described, the movement of the arm 76 to the left will cause the platen to be moved to and locked in its impression-off position. The cooking of the grippers opens the circuit ofV magnet 71 and. hence latch 69 will engage block 70 when the roller 63a on the pitman 62 rides onto the high part of cam `61, which it does when the grippers are near their sheet receiving position. If now them a sheet, magnet 71 will remain de-energized and pitman 62 will remain locked by engagement of latch 69 with the block 70, butv if a sheet is not received, magnet 71 will be energizedv and cause the impression to be thrown off as described. The high part of cam 61 is designed tol engage the roller on pitman 62 and move said pitman sufficiently to theV right to slightly disengage block 70l so that the operation of the latch by the magnet will notl be opposed. by friction between the latch and the block.

Feed of sheets from the op of the pile Sheets are automatically lifted fromV the pile on the feed table 32 and presented to the feed grippers by the mechanism which will now be described. Fastened on the shaft 30 inside the feeder frame is a cam 91 (F ig. 4) having a lateral cam groove in which operates'a roller 92a journalled on a pin projecting from the side of a yoke 92 which embraces and works on `a square block journalled on shaft 30. The yoke is formed on the end of a pitman 93 which is pivotally con.- nected to one arm of a bell crank 94 pivoted in the side frame 18. The other arm of the bell crank is connected to the lower end of a rod 95 which extends upwardly on the outside of the frame and is connected at its upper end to an arm 96 fast on shaft 97 journalled in the tops of the feeder side frames. The shaft 97 has secured thereto between the feeder side Vframes a pair of arms 98 the ends of which are loosely connected to studs 99 which are in a line parallel with the shaft 97 and are provided at their ends with blocks 100 which are adapted to slide in vertical guides 101 formed in the side frames. Swinging on the studs 99 are two depending arms 102 and tying the lower ends of these arms together is a bar 103. Two suction pad housings 104 are adjustably mounted on the bar 103 for lateral adjustment to adapt the lifters to sheets of different widths and the bar 103 is vertically adjustable on the arms 102 to provide for different sizes of suction pads. The suction pads are connected by short lengths 105 of flexible hose to a pipe 106 which extendslaterally across the top of the feeder frame and then downwardly outside of the side frame 18 (F ig. l) and is connected to another flexible hose 107 which is in turn connected byconnections to be later described, to another flexible hose 108 (Figs. 1 and 3) leading'to the suction side of an air pump 109. The cylinder of this pump is pivoted atk 110 to a lug projecting upward from the base plate 28 andthe piston rod 111 is provided with a pin engaging a slot in an oscillating arm 112 rocker shaft.

The suction pads are actuated by mechanism which includes a cam disk 113 mounted on the shaft 30 between the side frames 18 and 19 and adjacent to the cam disk 91, said cam 113 having a groove in which is engaged a roller 114@ carried by a pitman 114, the end of the pitman being formed with a fork sliding on a square blockL journalled on the shaft 30. The other end of the pitman 114 is pivotally connected with one arm journalled on the press of a lever 115 pivotally mounted in the feeder side frame 18, and the other end of thisl lever is' connected to the lower end of a rod 116 which extends upwardly and is pivoted at its upper end to the end of an arm 117 rigid with a shaft 118 j ournalled at the top of the feeder side frames. A pair of arms 119 are rigid with the shaft 118 and have pins at their outer ends engaging slots 12() formed Vin the sides of arms 102. The cams 91 and 113 are so formed that the cam 91 will cause the suction pads to be moved up carrying a sheet and then to dwell throughout therotation of cam 113 through an angle of about 270. During this dwell in the vertical move. ment of the suction pads the swinging arms 119 cause the suction pads to move over towards the grippers and insert the sheet into the throats of the grippers and then to move back, after which the eam 91 causes the pads to move down for another sheet.

For separa-ting the top sheet so that two or more sheets will not be lifted from the pile, there is provided a horizontal pipe 121 (Fig. 3) which extends across the rear of the sheet pile at the top thereof. This pipe is connected to flexible hose elements 122 which leads to nozzles 123 slidably mounted on the pipe 121. The pipe 121 passes down inside of the frame to a flexible hose 121 in turn connected, by connections to be later described, to a flexible hose 125 connected with the pressure side of the pump 109. The nozzles 123 are adjusted so as to be in line with the suction pads and they direct air blasts against the edges of the top sheets, separating these sheets and preventing adherence of the top sheet to the next one.

Ple cZeUatzng and lowering mechanism The feed table 32 is adapted to be automatically raised, and the delivery table 33 lowered, by devices controlled by the level of the top sheet of the pile of sheets on the feed table Secured to the front faces of the side frames 18 and 19, near the top thereof, is a pair of brackets 126 (Fig. 2) in the front ends of which is journalled a trip shaft 127. On shaft 127 inside the feeder side frames and adjacent to one of the suction pads is fixed a trip arm 128. This arm is formed with a split hub adapted to be clamped on the shaft so that the trip arm may be fixed in any desired lateral position in accordance with the width of the sheets being operated on. The adjacent suction pad has fixed thereto a laterally projecting pin 129 (F ig. 19) which is adapted to strike arm 128 and rotate shaft 127 to trip the mechanism for elevating table 32 and the mechanism for lowering table 33 when the level of the sheet pile sinks below a predetermined elevation. On shaft 127 outside the bracket 126 is fixed an arm 13() (Figs. 2 and 3) which carries a roller 1302L adapted to engage the upper arm of a pawl lever 131 fulcrumed on a depending part of the bracket 126. The lower end of the lever 131 has a tooth engaging a notch in a block 132 secured to the upper end of rod 133, a spring tending to hold the tooth engaged with the notch. Rod 133 is slidably mounted in the lower end of the bracket 126 and in the projecting arm of a lower bracket 15e. A coiled spring 136 surrounds the rod 133 between the bracket 126 and a collar 137 secured to the rod7 and operates to move the rod down when pawl lever 131 is released from engagement with the block 132. The lower end of the rod 133 has a pin and slot connection with a disk mask 138 which is rotatable on a stud 139 journalled at one end in the feeder side frame 19 and at the other end in a bracket 140 bolted to said frame. Fixed on stud 139 is a ratchet wheel 1111 and a toothed gear 142, and an adjustable disk mask 1l2L is located between the ratchet wheel and mask 138 and is rotatable on the stud. The ratchet wheel is adapted to be rotated by a pawl 143b on an arm 143 pivoted on stud 139 and having rigid therewith on the opposite side of the stud from the pawl, an abutment 143L adapted to engage a pin 1114 proj ecting from the face of mask 138. The pawl arm is pivoted to one arm of a rod 145, the other end of wnich is connected to a rocker arm 1516 journalled in the feeder side frame 19. This rocker is also connected by a rod 147 to a pin on a crank disk 143 se cured on the end of the shaft 30. Since the shaft 30 is continuously rotated during the operation of the press, once for each printing cycle, the pawl arm 143 will be continuously oscillated once for each printing cycle. )When the mechanism is in non-tripped condition, however, oscillation of the pawl lever 1113 will be ineffective, since the mask 138 covers all the ratchet teeth swept over by the pawl lever in its oscillation. Meshing with the gear 14-2 is a pinion 1419 secured to the end of a shaft 150 (Fig. 2) journalled in the feeder side frames. Shaft 150 has fixed thereon a pair of bevel 151 which mesh with bevel gears 152 secured to the lower ends of screw shafts 153. These shafts are journalled at their upper ends in brackets 126 and at their lower ends in brackets 151. The table is guided for vertical movement on the feeder side frames by means of yoke 155 secured to the rear corners of the table embracing and engaging vertical lianges 156 on the side frames, and the table is adapted to be operated bythe shafts 153 being threaded in the yoke 155.

The automatic table moving devices operate in substantially the following manner:

Vhen the level of the sheet pile on table 32 sinks below a predetermined level, the pin 129 on the suction pad holder will depress the arm 128, causing rotation of the trip shaft 127 and withdrawal of pawl 131 from the notch in block 132. The spring 136 will then instantly move the rod 133 down and rotate mask 138 in a clockwise direction. The rota llo .. spring tion of the mask in a clockwise direction uncovers a predetermined number of ratchet teeth by reason of its cut-away portion and hence on the return movement of the pawl arm, the pawl will engage the last tooth uncovered by said mask in its clockwise rotation, and rotate the ratchet through an angle determined by the number of teeth uncovered by said mask, thus rotating the screw shafts 153 and raising the table. In this return or driving movement of the pawl arm, the abutment 143a will engage the pin 144 and return the mask and rod 133 to their cocked position, in which they are held against the tension of spring 136 by engagement of pawl 131 with the notch in block 132. A second or adjusting mask 142a has a cut-away portion located relatively to the cut-away portion of mask 138, as indicated in F ig. 2. The position of the cut-away portion of this mask may be varied bysimply rotating the mask by hand, a lingerhold pin 274 being provided for this purpose. The periphery of the mask 142s is provided with teeth adapted to be engaged by a pawl 275, whereby the mask may be held in a number of adjusted positions. lVhen the mask is moved counter-clockwise, it will shroud a number of ratchet teeth which would otherwise be uncovered by mask 138, and so cause the feed table to be elevated a lesser amount per actuation of the tripping devices, and conversely, when mask 142'?L is rotated clockwise, it will unshroud a number of ratchet teeth, permitting the last one unshrouded to be engaged by the pawl when the mask 138 is tripped, thus causing rotation of the ratchet through a larger angle and hence a greater elevation of the table per actuation.- Thus the automatic intermittent elevation of the table may be adjusted so that the degree of elevation per actuation may be varied to suit any thickness of the sheets. A

The delivery table 33 is operated by a pair of vertical screw shaft-s 160 and 161 respectively. The right hand side of the delivery table is supported by a bracket 33a secured to the side of the table, in which the shaft 160 is threaded. The upper end of the shaft 160 is vjournalled in a bearing 162 formed in a project-ion of a bracket 163 secured to the feeder side frame 18. The lower end of the shaft 160 carries a bevel gear 165 meshing with a bevel gear 166 keyed on a transverse shaft 167 journalled in the feeder frame. vr1`he left hand end of the shaft 167 carri-es a bevel gear 163D meshing with a bevel gear 164 26). This gear has an integral sleeve 164n threaded on the screw shaft 161, and the sleeve is journalled in a bracket 170 carried by the side frame 19, and is held in place by a collar 171 screw-threaded on the sleeve. The upper end of screw shaft 161 is rigidly secured to a bracket 33" carried by the left hand end of the Ydelivery table. Outside the screw vlowering the screw shaft shaft 161 and in line with shaft 167 is a short shaft 1671, journalled in the side frame 19, and having keyed thereto a bevel pinion 163a meshing with bevel gear 164. Outside of the side frame 19, a spur pinion 172 is splined on the shaft 1673, and meshes with an idler spur gear 172 journalled on a` stud secured to the side frame. The idler gear 173 in turn meshes with the gear 142 which operates the feed table elevating mechanism.

vWhenever the feed table is raised or lowered by the ratchet mechanism, as previously described, the delivery table is also lowered or raised in the opposite direction by the gear 142 which drives the pinion 172 by means of the idler gear 173. rlhe shaft 167% being l:eyed to gear 172, rotates therewith and the bevel pinion 163a causes the sleeve 164a to rotate in the bracket 170, thereby raising or 161 and moving bracket 33b bodily in avertical direction, causing corresponding movement of the delivery table. rllhe gear 164'by meshing with gear 163b drives the shaft 167, which transmits the drive to the other screw shaft 160. By having a non-rotative screw shaft to support the left hand end ofthe delivery table, the shaft does not have to extend above the table. rThis leaves an open space above the delivery table, so that the pile of printed sheets can be removed from the left hand er feeding side of the feeder, the left hand arm 46 being bent as shown in Fig. 2 so as not to obstruct the opening through which the sheets are removed..

Rear guides for the sheets on the delivery table are provided by a pair of vertical steel strips 276 secured at their lower ends to screw clamped sleeves 276a transversely adjustable on a transverse rod 277 carried by arms bolted to the feeder side frames at the rear, as shown in F ig. 1. Similar rear guides for the sheets on the feed table are provided by a pair of steel strips 278 (Fig. 3) secured at their lower ends toscrew clamped sleeves 278a transversely adjustable on a transverse rod 279 bolted between the front portions lof the feeder side frames. After the feed table has been elevated, the delivery pile can be removed frein the front of the feeder by sliding the feed pile guides 278 to each side along the rod 279, or it can be removed laterally without elevating the feed table 32.

Both feed and delivery tables can be operated by hand, using a crank fitted on the squared end of shaft 139. If it is desired to raise or lower the feed table only, pinion 172 is disengaged from the idler gear 173 by sliding it on the extension of shaft 167. The crank will then drive the raising or lowering mechanism for the feed table, without affecting the delivery table, by the gear 142 meshf ing with the pinion 149. If it is desired to raise or lower the delivery table only, pinion 149 is disengaged from the gear 142 bysl-idin-g it on an extension of the shaft 150. The crank will then drive the raising or lowering mechanism for the delivery table without affecting the feed table, by the gear 142 mesh` ing with idler gear 178 driving the pinion 172.

Jogger 'mechanism The jogger mechanism associated with the delivery table 88 is mounted in brackets 168 and 168c supported above the table, and as shown in Figs. 8 to 12, comprises side jogger boards 175 and a head jogger pad 176 mounted and operated in accordance with the following description:

Adjustably fixed at their forward ends in the brackets 168 and 168C are two parallel rods 177 which extend rearwardly at the sides of the delivery pile and have adjustably mounted on their rear ends a pair of brackets 178. These brackets are provided with rectangular slots to adjustably receive a square transverse rod 180. The brackets carry forwardly projecting arms 181 providing journals for an oscillating shaft 182. A crank 188 is mounted on one end of the oscillatingr shaft outside of the bracket iournal, and the other end of the shaft is provided with a col` lar 184iwhich holds the shaft in position but permits its ready disassembly. The crank 188 is provided with a slotin which is engaged a pin 185 carried by a collar 186 ad justable on areciprocating rod 187 slidably mounted in the bracket 168. The rear end of the rod 187 is connected with one arm of a bent leverl 188 (Figs. 1 and 8) fulcrumed on the forward end of the bracket 168, the other arm of the bent lever being adapted to be contaeted and operated by a projection 190 on the movable platen of the press. A spring 189 secured at one end to the bent lever and at its other end to the bracket 168 serves to return the bent lever subsequently to its operation by the press platen. A sleeve 191 is adjustably mounted on the square rod 180 and pivoted en this sleeve at 192 is a side jogger arm 194 which at its outer end pivotally supports the side jogger pad 175. A sleeve 195 is adjustably mounted on the oscillating shaft 182 and carries an upwardly extending pin 196 adapted to engage an oblique slot 197 in the side ogger arm 194. Mounted centrally of the squared rod 180 is a sleeve 198 adjustable on the rod, in which is slit ably carried a head jogger rod 199 which at its other end pivotally supports the head jogger pad 176. A sleeve 202 is adjustably mounted on the oscillating shaft 182 and carries an upwardly extendingr pin 201 which engages a slot in the lower side of a sleeve 200 adjustably mounted on the head jogger rod 199.

0scillation of the bent lever 188 under the infiuence of extension 190 and spring 189 reciprocates the rod 187, which causes the pin 185 carried by sleeve 186, by its engagement with the slot in the crank 188, to oscillate the' shaft 182. The pin 196 carried by the sleeve 195 mounted on the sha t 182, by its engage-l ment with the oblique slot 197, will give the side jogger arm 1941 a transverse reciprocatory motion. Also the head jogger pad 176 will be given a longitudinal reciprocatory motion by the pin 201 engaging the slot in the sleeve 200 carried by the rod 199. The mechanism for reciprocating the side pad 175 just described is duplicated at the other side of the delivery table, the parts being indicated by the reference characters 191, 192, 1911, 19521, 196% and 197. The left hand sleeve 191a has a round bore engaging the square rod 180, so that the jogger pad on the open side of the feeder may be raised when the delivery pile is to be removed.

Sheet registering devices The registration of the sheet on the platen is eil'ected by the devices shown in Figs. 18, 14, 15 and 16. Fixed in the platen lugs, adjacent the gripper shaft 216 is a shaft or bar 208. rlhe brackets 204 are slidably mounted on the shaft 208 and project forwardly over the face of the platen. These brackets are provided with a longitudinal bore receiving a stem 205 which carries at its outer end a sheet stop finger 206 which is provided with a rearwardly exending pin 207. A spring 209 is coiled around the stem 205, and ixed at one end in the bracket 2011 and at its other end to the stem 205 so as to normally turn the sheet stop finger to an inclined position relative to the face of the platen. A step 208 is secured on the end of the stem 205 and limits the upward movement of the finger 206. A sleeve 210 is adjustably mounted lon the rod 208 and carries a pivot 211 on which is mounted a side register arm 212 on the outer end of which is slidably mounted a side register-.linger 218. r1`he other end of the arm 212 carries a pin 214 which engages a helical slot in a cam 215 mounted on the gripper shaft. As the feeding grippers carry the sheet to the platen at the instant the feed grippers open, the sheet hits the two stop ngers 206 and is thus stopped with the edge of the sheet against the face of the lingers. As the feeding bar moves further it hits the pins 207 which lower the sheet down to the platen. As the press gripper shaft 216 rotates when the platen is opening and closing, the registering finger 218 is moved back and forth by the cam 215 engaging the pin 2141 and causing the arm 212 to oscillate about its pivot 211.

Suction pacta Referring to Figs. 17 to 21, each of the suction pad housings 10d is provided with a bore 218 which receives a stem 217. rlhe upper end of the bore 218 is expanded and has threaded therein a sleeve 219 through which the pad holder stem 217 extends. A 

